Union Budget 2024: Ministry begins planning, seeks input from other ministries

The Finance Ministry has initiated preparations for the interim Budget for 2024-25, seeking input on expenditure from various ministries and departments. This interim Budget is necessitated by the upcoming Lok Sabha elections early next year. The complete FY25 Budget will be presented after the formation of the new government following the elections.

According to the Budget Circular (2024-25) from the Budget Division under the Department of Economic Affairs of the Finance Ministry, pre-budget meetings led by the Secretary (Expenditure) will begin in mid-October 2023 and continue until mid-November 2023. Financial advisers are instructed to ensure the submission of required details by October 5, 2023.

The Budget Estimates for 2024-25 will be provisionally determined after these pre-Budget meetings, where funding needs for all categories of expenditures and receipts of ministries or departments will be discussed. Non-tax revenues, including arrears, will also be discussed on a net basis.

The circular instructs ministries or departments to provide details of autonomous bodies or implementing agencies with dedicated corpus funds, along with explanations for their continuation and grant-in-aid requirements.

This will be Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's sixth Budget presentation, with her first full Budget presented in July 2019. The Budget for the current fiscal year projected a nominal growth rate of 10.5% and a fiscal deficit of 5.9% of GDP.

The interim Budget for 2024-25 is expected to be presented on February 1. The tradition of presenting the Budget at the end of February was changed by the Modi-led government, with former Finance Minister Arun Jaitley initiating the practice of presenting the annual Budget on February 1 starting in 2017. This allows government departments to receive budgeted funds from the beginning of the financial year in April, enabling earlier spending and better planning for businesses and taxation. Previously, the Budget approval process was completed in mid-May, delaying project spending until August or September.